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. 2012 Jul;5(2):156-9.
doi: 10.4103/0974-2069.99618.

Awareness of fetal echo in Indian scenario

Dhanya Warrier  1 , Rahul Saraf, Sunita Maheshwari, Pv Suresh, Sejal Shah
Affiliations

Awareness of fetal echo in Indian scenario

Dhanya Warrier et al. Ann Pediatr Cardiol. 2012 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Fetal echocardiography is a well established sensitive tool to diagnose congenital heart disease (CHD) in utero. One of the determinants of effective utilization of fetal echocardiography is its awareness in the general population. The present hospital based study was undertaken to assess the awareness of the need for fetal echocardiography amongst Indian parents.

Methods: One thousand one hundred and thirty eight consecutive parents who visited the pediatric cardiology outpatient department of a tertiary care centre over a period of two months were asked to fill up a questionnaire that included their demographic data, educational status, history of CHD in children, awareness of fetal echocardiography and source of information and timing of fetal echocardiogram if performed. The data was categorized and awareness was noted in different groups.

Results: The awareness in the study population was 2.2%. Awareness was found to be similar across the study population irrespective of the demographics and high risk status of the parents.

Conclusions: The awareness of fetal echocardiography, an important tool in reducing the incidence of complex CHD, thereby impacting public health, is alarmingly low in the population studied. Appropriate action to increase awareness of fetal echocardiography needs to be looked into.

Keywords: Awareness; congenital heart disease; fetal echocardiography.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bar diagram showing the percentage of awareness of fetal echocardiography in the urban and rural population
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bar diagram showing the percentage of awareness of fetal echocardiography in parents of group A and group B
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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